The latest Medeski, Martin and Wood release, "End of the World Party (Just in Case)," goes further than ever into unpredictable musical zones. Unlike most jazz or even jazz-influenced bands, MMW foregrounds carefully crafted sounds and juicy grooves rather than traditional chords and melodies.
This time out, the trio's sound is dominated by John Medeski's phenomenal keyboard. Not since Joe Zawinul has any keyboardist so successfully tapped the potential of electronic keyboards. Medeski pops eccentric sounds and sonic fireworks right into the flow of Chris Wood's bass and Billy Martin's percussion work.
From the acidhead organ of "Queen Bee," to the down-and-dirty funk of "Sasa," Medeski piles on freshly synthesized tones without ever overdoing it. Guest guitarist Marc Ribot's screaming solos race along with Medeski's forward drive on four numbers, most wildly on "Reflector." The bluesy "Shine It" lays back into conventional keyboard sounds, but mainly to give Martin and Wood a chance to play their fingers raw. Less deliberately iconoclastic than their past releases, MMW's 11th album instead displays a richer texture of inventive, and funkier, sounds.
